DISAPPOINTED Chris Doak was caught out by Merion’s dried up greens yesterday as he missed the cut in the first Major of his career by a mere two shots.

The Greenock golfer was up at the crack of dawn to complete his second round at the US Open after the storm-delayed start to the tournament caused Friday’s action to be abandoned due to a loss of daylight.

Doak emerged in the morning to find the greens running four or five feet faster due to the improving weather and greenstaff’s early visit with the mower.

And after shooting 77 to finish 10-over par for the first 36 holes, the Scot found himself falling agonisingly short of the cut.

However, Doak wasn’t too downhearted as he admitted narrowly missing the cut despite playing nowhere near his best proved to him he can compete at the highest level.

He said: “I felt I had the pace of the greens on the practice days and in the first round but yesterday the putts were running much faster and the short stick never performed today.

“I three-putted two of the first three greens and my playing partners’ first putts raced four or five feet past the hole. The change in pace definitely caught us out and the greens are so tough with their steep undulations.

"I didn’t come here with the target of just making the cut. Every time I go to any tournament I consider it a four-round event so I’m a little disappointed to have missed out on the last two rounds by a couple of shots.

“But there are a lot of positives to take and I look on it as having chalked up a lot of valuable experience.

“The way I see it, I’ve not played great. I’d say there were only two shots that I felt I hit as well as I could – and yet I’ve only missed the cut by two shots.

“That tells me that when I do play the way I am capable of I can definitely compete at the highest level – even if I play just half-decent, I’ve got the game to compete.

“The most baffling thing is that I was absolutely ripping it on the range but once I was out on the course I seemed to struggle with my alignment.”

Having started his second round with three straight bogies, Doak looked to have settled back into the swing of things thanks to a run of pars. But three more bogeys and a double bogey in the space of six holes – with a rare birdie at the start of his back nine – brought his challenge crashing to a halt.

Still, Doak’s first taste of the Major stage has definitely left him craving more as he revealed the noisy American crowd was one of the biggest thrills of the week.

Chris Doak tries to get to grips with his putting at Marion (Image: Getty Images)

The galleries really took to the Scot with the distinctive retro flatcap that earned comparisons to notorious gangster Al Capone on Friday.

He said: “The crowds were fantastic again today, comments such as ‘nice lid’ coming from the bleachers. How can you not smile at that?

“There were also great words of encouragement on every hole and I think if I ever play full-time in America I will have a few friends.

“On Friday night play was suspended at 8.30pm for low light but not before a huge roar for the people’s champion Phil Mickelson rolling home a birdie.

“Now that’s a guy who is absolutely loved out here and what a thrill that must be because these fans are fantastic. After my round I handed out a few of my hats to the kids beside the 18th green. I just emptied my bag, signing gloves, balls, hats – the lot.

“I think the only thing I didn’t give away was my underpants.

“I just wanted to show them how much I appreciate the support they gave to me this week. And the same goes for everyone who was kind enough to get in touch with good luck messages from home.

“I’ve built up a wee Twitter following now and so many people – family, friends, fellow pros and complete strangers – have been really kind in taking the time out to wish me luck.”

Doak will now travel to Munich for the BMW International Open though a push to play at Muirfield this summer looms large.

He added: “The target now is to get back to business starting in Germany next week and put together the results I need to secure my European Tour card for next season. And of course I want to get back to the Majors as soon as possible, which means I’ll be going to Open qualifying at Sunningdale.

“Although, the biggest aim is to climb up the rankings into the world top 50 which would guarantee me a place in all four Majors without the need to go down the qualifying route.”